DeKalb Medical at North Decatur’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) team earned First Place in the Josh Nahum Infection Prevention category of the 2015-2016 Partnership for Health & Accountability (PHA) Quality and Patient Safety Awards. The team was recognized during the 2016 Georgia Hospital Association Quality and Patient Safety Summit in Greensboro, GA on January 7th.

This award represents the DeKalb Medical ICU team’s strong commitment to increasing patient safety by working to reduce hospital acquired infections (HAIs). “To receive this award is quite an honor in healthcare,” said Nancy Curdy, MSN, RN, CCNS, CPPS, CPHQ, Director of Patient Safety and Infection Prevention. “We are very proud of the whole team who worked very well together to accomplish this.”

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One of the most frequently occurring HAIs is a Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI). Through team work and continued staff education, DeKalb Medical’s ICU team was able to reduce the number of CAUTIs by 88% over a six month period. “We used a multi-disciplinary team led by our staff nurse Cassie Westbrook [RN] to increase accountability and education throughout the staff, “ Curdy said. “Cassie was an important part of making these changes.”

The ICU team worked to reduce the use of indwelling urinary catheters (IUCs) as a strategy to decrease CAUTIs. By learning about and utilizing IUC alternatives, such as bladder scanning, the team decreased their Device Utilization Ratio (DUR) by 10 %.

About Josh Nahum Award The Josh Nahum Award for Infection Prevention and Control was established in 2007. Victoria and Armando Nahum, in partnership with the Georgia Hospital Association, created the award in memory of their son Josh, who died from a healthcare-associated infection.

About DeKalb MedicalDeKalb Medical offers more than 700 doctors skilled in 55 medical specialties. The not-for-profit health care system consists of three campuses -- DeKalb Medical at North Decatur, DeKalb Medical LTAC at Downtown Decatur, and DeKalb Medical at Hillandale—as well as the DeKalb Physicians Group with over 30 practices in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties. Founded in DeKalb County in 1961, DeKalb Medical is an established and active member of the community, offering a variety of award-winning, accessible services, including joint replacement, long-term acute care, surgical weight loss, mammography, heartburn solutions and more. The Maternity Center is the first in Georgia to receive the international “Baby-Friendly” hospital designation. The Cancer Center has been awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. To learn more about DeKalb Medical, please visit our website: www.dekalbmedical.org.